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Lucifer (season 1)- old review

(Iíve been sitting on this one for a while, but, why not now, you know, after itís been cancelled, and no one cares, yeah sorry, anyway this is a review of Lucifer season 1)

Summary: based on the DC comic, Lucifer tells the story of a painfully bored Satan as he basically gives up running Hell so that he can run a nightclub in LA. Unfortunately, and to his legitimate surprise, getting wasted every night and sleeping with random beautiful women is actually a very hollow existence (or, at the very least itís repetitive), which is why, when he gets a chance to attach himself a real-live detective (Chloe Decker) and force himself into her investigations, he does it without a momentís hesitation.

The Good: Thereís a lot of little things I actually like about this series, for example Satan isnít really evil, he just sort of is (more on this below). Thereís also a bevy of interesting characters, Trixie for example (Choleís daughter) adds a lot to the show and does act how I would expect a kid her age to act. Mazekeen was also a fun character (though shockingly underutilized), and I like how the Ďagents of Heavení try to force Lucifer to get back to work. They establish him early on as this force of nature, so, obviously, they canít strong arm him into it and thus have to play on his ego, using subtler manipulations (admittedly they donít do this very often, but the few times they do itís pretty clever).

The Bad: As I said Mazekeen is wasted here, sheís a fairly layered character that the writers didnít seem to know what to do with, in the end, she kinda boils down to just being Luciferís disgruntled secretary, and well, she deserved better. I canít really say that Iím happy with the series format either, seeing as how itís literally the Devil solving crimes in LA, youíd think they could pick something interesting for him to solve, or (instead of being another generic crime drama) they could deal with the larger cosmic effects that thereís no one left to run Hell. While they do put on Lucifer several times that his absence has caused an imbalance, they never offer any actual proof or reasons why he should go back, thus (and I hate to admit this, but) Iím kinda with the Devil on this one, the fuckís the point?

Special Section- Symmetry of the Devil: You know, if Harry Potter can get banned from schools just because Hogwarts has the term Ďwitchcraftí in the title, Iíd be remised if I didnít mention the implications of having an entire TV show based around Satan. Look, if youíre any kind of religious, this is going to bother you as many people see the Devil as a personification of evil and heís kind of the hero here. However, the show opts for a different interpretation, one not so much despising humans for their free will but jealous that they have it. Hence, his hedonistic nature and open joy at promoting sin, he seems to believe that doing so is less a corruption and more akin to exposing manís true nature. I found it to be an interesting view on the exact nature of evil, but, take it how you like.

Final Thoughts: I miss Angel, I really do, and Iím not saying that I hoped this would be a direct cut and paste, but something more along that vein would have been nice. A main problem with this show is that Lucifer just doesnít give a shit and mostly goes along on these investigations so that he can giggle in Chloeís ear. Another issue is just how overpowered Lucifer really is, yet, the finale has him taken out, nearly killed, by a normal man who had stolen a magic knife from Mazekeen (do you get why I said she was wasted in this show). I guess you could say the finale is a microcosm for whatís wrong with the series as a whole, itís interesting, Iím not saying it isnít, it hits a lot of good beats and certainly has a unique view, but itís mishandled, misrepresented, and, on the whole, itís kind of boring.

If youíre curious, then I wonít tell you to be scared of it, but once youíve seen it, itís probably best to put it behind you.

I have to say this because I was basically emotionally blackmailed into watching vampire diaries by my thirteen year old niece: the actor that played Klaus would have made a better Lucifer, not only does he actually look like hte Neil Gaiman Lucifer, he could mimic the expressions one would expect from a fallen angel way better than that British prick!

And also because he I just hate how that TV series absolutely butchered NG's univerrse!

Yeah, I'll admit, I don't know the comics that well, but this is a series that reeks of wasted potential, I'm almost certain I got off light because of how little I know the source material.

Angel is a good show though (yeah, I don't know if you've seen it, but I feel obligated to tell people that, it's damn good and holds up...fairly well) there was also a short lived series on NBC called Hellblazer. It's not an exact replica of the comics, but, from what I saw, it was pretty decent (of course, NBC never released a Box set, so finding it is kind of a chore, but, if you get a chance it's worth watching).